Rich was fascinated by guitars from an early age. At age 10 he had lessons in classical guitar, but found the experience frustrating. It quickly became clear to him that he could play much better than he could read the dots and - importantly - that the classical guitar was just not loud enough!
At 14 he acquired his first electric guitar along with a 100w amp and 4 x 12 cab. He discovered the blues, rock and pop and worked his way through a few books and tapes on guitar theory and technique to get a grip on the basics. At secondary school he met his best mate, drummer (and now legendary guitarist) Derek Lewis. They became fast friends and quickly roped in a few other miscreants for a number of short-lived bands and projects.
At university Rich joined an Uxbridge-based originals band as a guitarist and also ‘filled in’ on bass for another originals band - an arrangement that ended up becoming permanent. This was in the 1980’s by which time Rich had gathered a real eclectic mix of musical influences. Naturally, he loved the music of Status Quo, Santana and UFO, but he also rocked out to The Police, The Jam, Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac. The 80s also gave him his love for Dire Straits, Japan and Duran Duran.
However, after competing in many talent competitions, gigging around local areas and completing a few recording sessions, band life faded and a ’normal' career and family life took over. However, Rich kept playing guitar and bass during the next couple of decades - acoustic guitar for fun, electric lead in a casual covers band and bass in the reformed (after 25 years!) university band.
In 2021 he was invited by his old mate Derek to join as bassist for the Superpowers, where he has added discipline and depth to the Superpowers sound. His skill and experience with all types of guitar playing gives the Superpowers both a solid foundation as well as dynamic interplaying with Derek and Jules.
Gear Rundown
Rich has a few guitars in his collection, but for the Superpowers he uses:
- Epiphone Thunderbird 60s Reissue Bass
- Fender Rumble Amp
- Fender Cabinet
- Fender Precision bass (as a backup)
